From the creator of Lost in Finn Island, comes a story about courage in the face of difficulty, perseverance, although success seems only a myth, patience where no man would even think of it.Liam has been sent to the village of Athelney to solve a mystery that has been going on for three years! Can he do it? We'll find out!This is his story.
*Knock knock knock*
"Come in!" said a scruffy voice, belonging to George Hasley.
The door creaked open and a young man stepped in. Mr. Hasley immediately recognized him as a military officer.
"Hello?" Hasley said to the officer.
"Greetings, I believe you are George Hasley?"
"That's me." Hasley replied. "What are you doing in my house? Have you come for anything in particular?"
"Yes, I mean, of course!" the man said, "The general has made an appeal for entering a training season. Most people nowadays have heard about a village called Athelney, it seems to have been silent for three years now. The people there have completely isolated themselves from the rest of the world."
"Yes?"
"We've sent missions already, but something always goes wrong and the mission fails." the officer said. "We want to send qualified young men to decode this mystery."
"I am seventy years old! There is no way I am participating in this." Hasley said.
"No! I was thinking Liam would be good for the job." The officer said.
"Liam!?" Hasley gasped. "I am not sending Liam."
"What do you mean? He is strong, faithful to his task, and smart!"
"Liam is happy enough the way he is right now! And what if something was to happen to him?" Hasley said in a determined voice. "Liam has already had a rough life up until now, He needs no more stress!"
"Sir, Liam is a clever man with much potential to be harnessed, He can be the one to unlock this mystery once and for all!" the officer said, "Think about it, your grandson riding the streets on a white horse and a purple robe. The president has already promised a fortune to whoever can solve this mystery!"
"Why put Liam in danger? I do NOT care about some silly village that has blocked itself from the rest of the world!" Hasley shouted at the man, obviously annoyed.
"But others do!"
At this moment, Hasley slammed the door shut and left the officer to his own. As he turned back to his newspaper, Liam, a young man that lived with his grandparents, walked in from the back door.
"Grandfather? Is everything alright?" Liam asked.
"Yes, Liam." Hasley said. "NOW everything is fine."
"I heard someone shouting from here."
Mr. Hasley let out a deep sigh, and replied, "It is none of your business. How's the crop getting along?"
"Just fine! Harvest can probably start in about two weeks." Liam answered.
"Good."
"Where's Grandma?" Liam asked.
"Tracy is out in the small garden picking some vegetables for dinner."
Tracy, Liam's grandmother, finished up at the garden and then came inside to make their evening soup.
Liam lived with his grandparents in a small cottage. They didn't have much, just one kitchen, a loft, and a single bedroom, a small stable for the cow, and a small garden. However, the Halseys though of themselves very fortunate for what they did have. They were happy and content, despite being poor.
Liam's mother and father had a divorce when he was only one. When they got married, they had ambitious plans for having a big family. Although his father kept hold of this dream, Liam's mother slowly lost her interest for having children. Things fell apart pretty quickly when Liam's mother found out she was pregnant. She didn't want to complain, but at the same time, found it difficult to manage working as a nurse and caring for Liam at the same time. Liam often found himself at his babysitter for pretty much the whole day. His parents often had fights over keeping him, and eventually, when he was one year old, his mother had enough. She left him along with his father. This new change meant his father had to manage his job as an electric engineer and take care of Liam until he was old enough to take care of himself.
His father loved Liam very much, and always wanted the best for him. He would read bedtime stories to him, feed him, change him, and pretty much anything else a parent would do for their child. But one day, as he was out in the field working on trimming the plants, he felt a searing pain through his chest. He collapsed on the floor. Liam, who was three at the time, was by his father's side at the time of this happening. His father barely managed tell him to get help.
Liam ran with all he could, screaming for help. Eventually someone heard him and followed him to his father. They called the ambulance, and Liam's father was rushed to the hospital. There the doctor told him that he had a strong heart attack, and they would do all they could, but there wasn't much chance of saving him. Liam's mother was tracked down and was asked to take Liam back, but she rejected the offer.
Liam passed through several relative's hands and ended with his grandparents.
School was a big issue for Liam. His grandfather just barely managed to scrape together enough money to pay for his education. At school it wasn't much better. He was weak, small for his age, and defenseless. Liam quickly became the most bullied kid in class. Other children would avoid him, for fear that the bullies would start picking on them. That was until one day in recces, when one of the bullies was shouting mean phrases and tripping him. But, to the bully's dismay, he didn't realize the teacher standing right by the door. The bully was sent to the principal's office, and Liam was bullied hardly ever again. After this incident, the other children became more open to become companions with him, and then friends. Here he developed a crush for a girl called Amy, but never built up the courage to tell her.
He also met his best friend Kyle at this school. They would play together all afternoon, until Liam or Kyle was called home for dinner. One of the great experiences Liam and Kyle had together was one time when they had gone on a walk around the woods. They came across a small waterfall with a still pool at the bottom. This was an extraordinary find for the two boys. Without a thought, they jumped into the water, clothes and everything, splashing and having just the best time. When they realized the how late it had become, they rushed out of the water and began wringing their clothes. It was at this moment that Liam remembered what his grandmother had told him before they ran off. "Don't get these clothes wet Liam. It will be late soon, so the sun won't be out to dry them, and you have school tomorrow." At the Hasley's house, financial issues meant each person had only two sets of clothing, their everyday clothes, and their church clothes. Liam realized the mess he had gotten himself into and pleaded with Kyle to help him out of it. Liam was only seven at the time, and Kyle was eight.
The two boys tried everything to hide their tracks, but it was all in vain. Soon it was time to go back home, and Liam had to accept his fate. When he got home, his grandmother asked him about his wet clothes, as expected. He had no choice but to tell her the truth. He got punished for not obeying her command and had to spend the next time drying his clothes in any way possible before bedtime.
Liam would often think back to this time. It was one of the most lasting of his experiences with Kyle. But then something happened that changed everything.
The two friends were out on their regular stroll around the woods, looking for wildlife. When one thought they saw something, he would run off in that direction, and the other would quickly follow. They were trying to catch a rabbit to keep as a pet. So far neither of the boys had been able to catch one, but they had come close a few times. Suddenly, Kyle whispered that he thought he saw something and sprang off after it. He told Liam he was going to chase it around and back to where Liam was so they could corner it, so instead of following Kyle, Liam waited vigilantly for Kyle to come back chasing the animal, and then Liam would snag it before it even knew he was there. Liam waited for ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds, one minute. At this point, he started to think that something must have gone wrong. Two minutes, five minutes, and Liam got off the rock he was sitting on. He looked around the direction Kyle had run off to, called for him, but found nothing. Soon it was time to go home, and Liam ran back, screaming that Kyle was lost. His grandparents and Kyle's family followed Liam to where Kyle went missing. They looked for hours but found nothing of Kyle. It was nighttime when they got home that day.
Liam was sobbing into his grandfather's arm, Kyle's family was sad and shocked. Kyle was Liam's best friend, the only friend he really trusted. But now he was on his own again. Kyle was presumed dead, and so it is to this day.
Kyle's family, including Jonathan, Kyle's older brother, soon moved out, saying that they wanted to forget Kyle's death and move on with life.
Eventually Liam got over Kyle's disappearance, and got used to life the way it currently was.
Now he was twenty-one, and still living with his grandparents. Living paycheck to paycheck, but happily here.
